Getting Started with Language Tree Online

Minimum Technical Requirements

Language Tree Online courses are web-based, so there is no software to download. Students and teachers will just need a computer or tablet with a robust Wi-Fi connection to the internet. Each student should have a headphone or earbuds with a microphone to listen to the video and audio clips without disturbing others and to do the self-recording exercises.

Tip:  If students are experiencing slow downloads, video stoppages, and other interruptions, the issue is probably due to bandwidth limitations.  Please speak with your school or district IT network administrator to see if bandwidth can be increased.

Mobile

The program's user interface adapts to the form factor of the device used.  Desktops, laptops, and tablets are ideal devices to access the program. However, if a student wants to use a mobile phone to access the program, we advise using the Moodle app for the best experience. They will need to download the app to their devices and use their login credentials to sign in.

Android Phones: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moodle.moodlemobile&hl=en_AU

iPhones: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/moodle/id633359593

Browser and Browser Settings

  • All modern browsers are supported (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, etc.)
  • Cookies and Javascript should be enabled
  • Pop-up blocking software may need to be disabled to properly access Moodle

Software/Browser Plug-ins

The teacher downloadables are in PDF format, so instructors will need a PDF reader to be installed either on the computer or browser.

Listening Device

Each student should have a headset or earbuds that plug into the computer or tablet. A microphone is needed only for recording exercises.

Computer Skills Needed

Students will need basic computer skills to take the online course. For example, your students should be able to:

  • Log in using provided credentials or through their Clever or ClassLink portal
  • Navigate to the designated module and lesson
  • Navigate to the next page
  • Play video and audio clips by clicking on the play icon
  • Increase or decrease the audio volume
  • Select an answer from a drop-down menu
  • Select an answer from multiple choices
  • Drag and drop phrases in the correct order using their mouse
  • Submit answers

We suggest you go over these tasks with your students before starting the assessment or lessons.

Teacher and Student Log In

The following login instructions apply only for login from a web browser.

 

If your district uses Clever or ClassLink with single-sign-on authentication, users will click on the Language Tree Online icon on their portal instead of going through this login screen.

Starting Students on the Program

Start students in different areas of the program based on their proficiency level.

Newcomers should work in the Newcomers module, starting with the  American School Culture component.

Once they have completed the 6 chapters in American School Culture, they can either work on the Newcomer Access lessons with the teacher OR begin the ELD 1 or ELD 2 Entry Assessments.

Students with very limited English competency (e.g., SIFE/SLIFE) should continue with the Newcomer Access lessons before going into ELD 1.

The Newcomer Access Lessons are teacher-led lessons that are highly scaffolded to help students access the beginner-level language skills found in ELD 1.

Students at the beginning or developing language proficiency level (e.g., WIDA 1s and 2s) can start with the ELD 1 Entry Assessments.

Students with intermediate to well-developed language competency (e.g., WIDA 3s and 4s,  LTELs) can start on the ELD 2 Entry Assessments.

TIP: Try to allocate an assessment window of about a week to complete the Entry Assessments at the beginning of the school term.

  1. Start with having your students take all three of the ELD 1 or ELD 2 Entry Assessments buckets in the following sequence:
    • Foundational Literacy Skills
    • Collaborative Listening & Speaking
    • Language Function & Construction
  2. If students score below 90% in any one of these three areas, they should work on the lesson modules. If a student scores 90% or higher in any area, the teacher can elect to have the student skip the corresponding module(s).

The lessons are locked until the student takes the Entry Assessment for that corresponding module.

After completing the lessons and practice assignments in the program, the student should take the Exit Assessments, designed to measure growth. The Exit Assessments are locked until the lessons for that module are completed. Allow students the same amount of time for the Entry and Exit Assessments to ensure a reliable comparison.

Note: The Entry can only be attempted once. The Exit Assessments can be attempted up to two times. The program will display the highest score if an assessment was attempted twice.

Submitting Answers for Assessments and Lessons

Once the assessment or online lesson is completed, the student will need to submit his or her answers by following these steps:

  • 1.

    After the last question in a module, the student will see FINISH ATTEMPT at the bottom of the page. The student should click on FINISH ATTEMPT.

  • 2.

    The next page shows whether all the questions have been answered. This enables the student to verify that every question has been answered. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click SUBMIT ALL AND FINISH to submit the answers.

  • 3.

    The student will get a pop-up confirmation. The student needs to click SUBMIT ALL AND FINISH. Once the student clicks submit this final time, answers can no longer be changed.

important icon

It’s important that the student follows these three steps because if he or she simply clicks “Finish Attempt” (Step 1), answers will not be tracked in the reporting. 

Teacher Reports: Assessment Results

Teachers can find the Entry and Exit Assessment scores for their class in the Reporting and Resources section of the program (found near the bottom of the homepage).

Under Teacher Reports, you'll see the links to the ELD 1 and ELD 2 Entry and Exit Assessment scores.

You will see the list of students in your class and the scores they received (out of 100%)  for each of the three language skills buckets. The left column under each bucket will be the Entry Assessment scores, the middle column will be the scores for the Exit Assessment, and the last column (__total) is the percentage point improvement between the Entry and Assessment scores.

You can drill down to get more detail about a particular student’s performance in an assessment area. Click on the three dots next to the score and select "Grade analysis" to drill down on the student's assessment details. On the "Quiz Navigation" menu at the right, you'll see which questions were answered incorrectly as indicated by a red stripe.  You'll also see when this assessment was started and completed.

Class Assessment Skills Trace

TheEntry Assessment results also help inform teaching next steps. Built into the program are analytical reports that show which language skills the majority of students need more support. For example, if you see the class average is low for a particular language skill, you may want to work on the connected lesson whole-class using the Teacher-led Instructional downloadable as a resource and assign the corresponding Practice Assignment as homework or class practice.

How the Online Lessons Work

To proceed to the next lesson, the student needs to score 80% correct or higher in the quiz section of each lesson to "unlock" the next lesson.  Students can re-attempt lesson quizzes multiple times. The system will capture 3 or more unsuccessful attempts from a student and this data will show up in the Lesson Attempts monitoring under the Teacher Resources section.

Teacher Reports: Intervention and Lesson Progress Monitoring

The Reports and Resources section, located near the bottom of the home page, is where you can find progress monitoring tools, teacher-led instruction downloadables, and other useful resources for your classroom.

 

Here you can find corresponding Teacher-Led Instruction downloadables for each lesson module. These are instructional routines you can use for whole-class and small-group exercises to reinforce the new language skills.

 

At the top of the page in the Teacher Reports section, you will find links to reports for progress monitoring and tools to alert you that intervention may be needed.

Lesson Completion: Click on the appropriate Lesson Completion link to see which lessons each student has submitted.  (Note: American School Culture is not graded)

If a lesson has been submitted and a score of 80% or higher has been achieved, you will see a green check mark. If the lesson has been submitted, but the score is less than 80%, you will see a red "x" under the lesson.

Lesson Attempts: Click on the ELD 1 or ELD 2 Lesson Attempts link to see where students are struggling.

The "quizzes" for a lesson can be attempted multiple times to receive the minimum 80% score to go on to the next lesson. This report shows if any student required 3 or more attempts to complete a lesson. This would be a good indicator if intervention is needed with a student on a particular language skill or function.

Practice Assignment Completion: Click on the ELD 1 or ELD 2 Practice Assignment Completion link. This report shows the practice assignments which have been completed by each student. A blue check mark indicates that a practice assignment has been submitted by a teacher for review.

 

 

Reviewing Practice Assignments: Practice assignments are not automatically graded by the system because many of the activities contain open-ended questions.  However, you may review the student's work on the practice assignment and provide feedback. Learn how to access and review your student's work on the practice assignments by clicking here.